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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Ambrose realize when he is the first person through the tumble-barrel room?

2. What does the narrator say could be one way for girls to become well-developed?

3. The narrator says italics should be used how often?

4. What does Ambrose know is the strategy for spying the Towers first?

5. What does Ambrose think would be the reason the daughter would not rescue him?

Short Essay Questions

1. What has Ambrose realized about winning the traditional game, and at what age does he understand this tactic?

2. What is done in Ocean City because of U-boats and how is it done?

3. Why does Ambrose think people don’t know what to make of him?

4. What does Ambrose do hesitantly to try and find some help while lost in the funhouse?

5. Who does Ambrose think will overhear him telling stories while lost in the Funhouse?

6. What happens to Ambrose’s father the first day, and what does his father have to do about it?

7. What does the Gypsy Fortune Teller machine look like?

8. What does Ambrose see in his imagination about married life?

9. When thoroughly lost, what does Ambrose imagine happens to him in the Funhouse?

10. Why does Magda win the traditional game in the car, and what does Ambrose’s mother say about her win?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Trace and analyze the theme of consciousness in Lost in the Funhouse. Which characters struggle with this issue? Why? Which characters seem to be aware of themselves and conscious of how they relate to the world? How is Ambrose’s consciousness shown in the funhouse? How does Ambrose’s consciousness compare to other characters’ consciousness?

Essay Topic 2

Humor and jokes are imbedded throughout the text of Lost in the Funhouse. Discuss how Barth uses humor to offset the depression and loneliness that actually pervades Ambrose’s thoughts. Use examples from the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

During the trip to Ocean City, Ambrose’s family plays car games. A traditional game is being the first to see the Towers. Ambrose, at four, realized how to win this game every time.

Discuss what understanding how to win a game at the age of four says about Ambrose as a person and what this illustrates about his intellect. Use examples from the text to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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